Pray for Noah

(Photo courtesy of Noah’s Facebook page)

By now most of the Summit Church knows about Noah Bacon, one of our 16 year old covenant members who was in a serious accident yesterday. But even if you’re not a part of the Summit, I’d appreciate it if you’d read the following and spend a few minutes this morning praying for him.

On Thursday morning, Noah was driving to school when he was in a single car accident, left the road and hit a tree. He’s currently in Duke’s pediatric ICU where he is in a medically induced coma. He has multiple fractures to his face and skull, a broken collarbone, and numerous lacerations. The medical team said that the first 48 hours after the accident will be critical in determining any lasting injury to his brain.

Noah and his family have been good friends of ours since coming to the Summit. We’ve been in small groups together, been on overseas mission trips together, Austin and Noah played on baseball and basketball teams together, and until he got his license in November, Noah, Jacob, and Austin carpooled to school together.

Please pray:

• For the pressure on Noah’s brain. Pray that the swelling will go down (doctors say it will get worse before it gets better) and there will be no lasting brain injury.
• For Noah’s anxiety as they bring him out of his coma. Pray that he will remain calm as he gains understanding of what has happened.
• For Bob & Clarissa, Noah’s parents, and Jean Ann, his sister. Pray that they will not be given to despair, but will trust in God’s sovereignty even in this.
• For the medical team. Noah is surrounded by the best of the best. Pray that their wisdom will continue to emanate from the Great Physician.

On a side note, it was an amazing thing to see the church in action yesterday. There was a constant stream at Duke all day long, and the vast majority were not the “paid professionals,” but the Bacon’s small group, friends from the West Club Campus, and folks that they serve with on the weekend. And of course, the Bacons held true to their normally encouraging nature, leaving everybody wondering who was ministering to whom.

For more updates on Noah, check out The City, the Summit’s online communications portal.

Update: 9:00 PM, 1/18/13.

Noah has shown some improvements today. They have begun weaning him from the sedation meds and are waiting for him to start responding. There’s been slight arm and hand movements and he took a couple of breaths on his own this afternoon.

His intracranial pressure has decreased – a very good sign. The “bad” number is 30, and since last night he’s gone from 11 to 14 to 5.

They’re bringing in a specialist to check out possible damage to his eye. He took a pretty good hit in the wreck and they want to make sure there’s no lasting damage to it.

Update: 6:00 PM, 1/20/13.

Noah is still holding steady and showing improvement. He’s had a good couple of days and is still responding to the medical team’s pokes and prods. Translated: they’re aggravating him. 🙂

While he’s still unconscious, he has been taking a few more breaths on his own. The doctors are satisfied with where he is, and said that the five day mark (Tuesday) is entirely appropriate for him to remain in the same state he is now.

Some of you have asked how you can best help Bob, Clarissa, and Jean Ann while they wait. Here are three ways:

1. Leave a comment below, letting them know (a) who you are and (b) where you’re from. They’ve been so encouraged by knowing that people are praying for them all over the globe.
2. Consider donating gift cards to local restaurants in the area around the hospital, or better yet – a Visa or MasterCard gift card that can be used anywhere (hospital cafeteria, parking garage, etc.) Also, Bob is getting his regular Starbucks fix and there just so happens to be one on the main floor. If you can’t get by the hospital, you can mail them to the church office: Summit Church, ATTN: Noah Bacon Family, 2335 Presidential Drive, Suite 114, Durham, NC 27703.
3. Once Noah is in a step down room it will be easier for them to accommodate some pre-packaged snacks, bottled drinks, etc. in their room. The waiting room right now is a bit on the small side, so it’s hard to fit all the donations that are coming in.

Update: 10:00 PM, 1/22/13.

I just heard from Bob, who asked me to cut and paste the following from his Facebook page:

Great day for noah, CT scan came back with no additional injuries from accident. He moved all of his body parts and breathed on his own for a couple of minutes. His eyes were fluttering as well. Still not conscious. Please continue to pray as they lower medications that we will start to see some reaction.

In addition, our West Club Campus has set up a Food Tidings page in order for meals to be brought to Duke’s cafeteria for the Bacons. There are 2 links: one for LUNCH and one for DINNER.

LUNCH: http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=c8819473-f5ee-41db-be2e-d4e3750d168e

DINNER: http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=b009bdeb-42c4-469b-ab52-0f03932ccefc

Update: 10:00 PM, 1/23/13.

From Bob’s Facebook update:

Noah had a great day today. Movements and breathing have been good. They are looking to flush the plumbing overnight. They are going to change meds in the early am and then neuro will look to wake him up and evaluate we hope before 7am. Please be in prayer for him as this is going to be a next big step for us

[12:00 PM, 1/30/13] 

Sorry for the awful delay in updating on Noah’s condition. The past week has seen some major steps forward. While Noah is still unconscious, the doctors say that the rest is doing his body a great deal of good. However, they’re adjusting meds to maybe help him wake up.

Facial surgeries started on Monday, a full 7-10 days before they thought he’s be ready. Noah had a cheekbone reconstructed and got a good face and hair wash to boot! His right eye is back to normal; left eye is fully dilated, but they’re at a standstill until he comes to.

Biggest news yet: Noah is in a step down unit now that he’s breathing on his own. That’s a huge praise for Bob & Clarissa as well.

Keep praying, and keep leaving comments below to let the Bacons know you’re praying.

Update

[10:00 PM, 1/31/13…the latest from Bob’s Facebook page]

Noah had another good quiet day today. Physical therapy went very well today. Although he is still not responding to commands as of yet, he was still able to work with the PT folks and have both heels on a bench and had his eyes tracking the therapist while they were working with him. It does look like we are now done with the facial surgeries for a while. The doctors are very pleased with his recovery of the orbital bone. They are looking to put in a feeding tube into his stomach area the next a few days. This will be a quick surgery to have this done.

Earlier this evening we did “face time” with Noah and his girlfriend, and it was absolutely amazing to see his reaction to this. He actually opened up BOTH eyes for a moment and started to move forward to the phone. What a praise to see him active like this.

Prayer requests for us:
* we want Noah to start responding to our commands. So much of his treatments are now becoming dependant on him being able to tell the doctors what are going on
* we need to start looking for a rehab facility for him. We have narrowed this to one in Charlotte or wake med n Raleigh. We are going to tour the wake med unit on Friday.

Please know that your prayers are being felt by Noah. To see where he is just 2 weeks removed from the accident. We serve a great and powerful God, and we give him all of the praise for where we are.